Combined magneto and starter unit



COIBINEY) MAGNET() AND STARTER UNIT File'd Sept. l5. 1921 2 Sheets-Shut 1 Tig.1. Z

ATTORN EY oct. 13,1925. 1,557,418

R. CHILTON COIBINBD IAGNETO AND STARTER UNIT D l 2 Sheets-Shut 2 :mul ulm @www Patented Oct. 13, 1925.

UNITED sTATlszsl PATENT OFFICE.

ROLAND CHILTON, 0F XEYPORT, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO' AEBOMARINE PLANE d:

MOTOR COMPANY, AACORPORATION 0F NEW YORK. n

COMBINED MAGNETO AND STARTER UNIT.

Application led September 15, 1921.

To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROLAND CHLLTON, a subject of the King of England, and resident of Keyport, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Magneto and Starter Units, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates in general to a combined magneto and starter unit for attachment to an internal combustion engine, and the invention specifically relates to such an attachment`for use in connection with an engine of the type used in aeroplane power constructions for taking power off of the engine shaft, for actuating magnetos and the like, and for conveying rotary power to the shaft for the purpose of starting the engine.

In engines of the aeroplane type it is usual to mount the propeller at one end of the main drive shaft of the engine which leaves the opposite end as an available place to mount an apparatus of the class herein disclosed. The invention therefore pertains to an attachment for engaging an aeroplane engine at the free end of its main' shaft and in position so as to make convenient engagement with the exposed free end of the engine shaft.

It is understood that in aeroplane rconstructions lightness of weight, and accordingly compactness of construction and the elimination of waste material, is vitally necessary. At the same time it is required that structures of the class outlined must be made suiciently rugged to withstand severe strains to which devices of this character are subjected.

Accordingly, one ofthe objects of the invention is to Vprovide a simple, compact, rugged construction which at the same time will be lightin weight and which will func- Vtion largely through the same mechanism both to start the engine and to receive power from th active engine for the purpose of actuating magnetos and the like, usually driven from the-engine4 shaft.

As the magneto is one such instrument taking power from the engine shaft and which requires ready accessibility, the present disclosure features the compact mount- Serial No. 500,807.

incidental to the last recited object is toy provide a structure in which the several movable parts are held in a preset desired relation and in such manner as will minimize if not eliminate rattling or other evidence of looseness of fit between the parts.

Various other objects and` advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawin s and in part will be more fully Aset forth 1n 'y the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodyingr my invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through an attachment illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and shown mounted in position on an aeroplane engine; and

Figure 2 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in vertlcal section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

In the following description andin the claims, arts will be identified by specific names or Aconvenience of expression but they are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts' as the art will permit. 4

In the drawings there is disclosed art of a conventional form of internal com ustion engine 10l shown adjacent its main crank shaft 11, which shaft ismounted in bearings 12 with an end of the shaft disposed adjacent to an opening 13 formed in the engine casing, as is usual in a well known en gine construction.

The device featured in this disclosure is in the form of an attachment and includes a mechanism containing hollow casing 14 having an exposed end 15 outlined b flange 16 which is demountably secured to t e open end 13 of the engine casing by means of bolts 17. It is understood that the bottom of the engine casing 18 constitutes an oil pan and that lubricant in the casing is splashed through the opening 13 and into the hollow casing 14 by the rotation of the piston cranks 19.

The casinf1r includes an upstanding front wall 20 whic constitutes the main structural part of the frame or casing 14. A power transmission shaft 21 is journalled adjacent its forward end in anti-friction bearings 22 formed in the wall 20, extends through the hollow casing and projects from the open end 15 so as to extend into ,the engine casing. The exposed end of the main drive shaft is secured to the crank shaft and constitutes, in effect, an extension of the shaft;

Thel casing 14 is designed -to provide a support for an electric starter motor 23 and is flanged to provide a support for a front cover plate 24. The motor 23 is Provided with a pinion 25, which drives a gear 26 at the forward end of the power transmission shaft 21 through starter mechanism indicated generally by the reference character 27 and which includes a shiftable pinion 28, all of which is more fully described in my copending application for internal combustion engine starter, Serial No. 471,002, filed May 19th,- 1921. The starter mechanism is designed to be operated manually by means y of a hand crank 29 engaging the shiftable -of the starter mechanism wit pinion 28.

Referring yto the disclosure in Figure 2, it is noted that the attachment which constitutes the casing for su porting the starter mechanism is provid on o posite sides integrally [formed and outwardly extending brackets 30 and 31. These'brackets constitute respectively a support for a pair of magnetos 32 and 33 of conventional construction and which are thus balanced on opposite sides of the starter construction. The magnetos'are demountably held in place by means of straps 34. A magneto cross shaft 35 is journaled .adjacent opposite ends in bearings 36 formed in the casing 14 and is connected to the power transmission shaft 21 through a Worm gear drive 37. The driving element or shaft 38 of each magneto is coupled to the adjacent end of the magneto" cross shaft by means of a coupling 39, preferably of the flexible type to compensate for any possible disalignment between the magneto shafts 38 and the magneto crossshaft 35.

In tbe illustrated showing in Figure 2, the flanges 30 and 31 supporting the magi netos are shown to be horizontally disposed but it is within the scope of thepresent disclosure to e'xtend. these flanges at an angle to the horizontal. This will obviously necessitate a small chan e in the manner of gearing tlle fmagneto slia -to the power transmission s a By means of a devicev of this character it is possible to attach either or both the starter and magneto shaft or shafts to the main drive shaft of the engine and to make the coupling therewith conveniently to the free end of the shaft opposite the .end carrying the ropeller. The attachment is designed to fit t e usual opening found in engines of the type discussed and by the obvious use of a y suitable adopter plate the attachment can be readily mounted on a form of opening differing4 from the form for which the attachment is designed. Ready access is provided to the different parts, for instance, the

hand crank can be inserted to operate thel mechanism manually and the magneto can be readily demounted due to the character of y coupling utilized. However, the driving netos positioned close to the starter mechanism and positioned in the available space in advance of the engine and in rear of the space necessarily occupied by the starten mechanism. The starter mechanism overlaps the power transmission shaft, which is, in effect, a continuation of the engine shaft, and thus the starter motor is conveniently disposed between the gear train forming part of the starter mechanism and the engine thus utilizing space which would be lotherwise lost. Considered in another way it is noted that the starter mechanism occupies and thus utilizes the space between the ma-gnetos which would be otherwise lost due to the necessity of providing a driving connection with the main shaft'from the space between the magnetos.

As the mechanism cairied by the attachment is opened to the lubricant splash chamber of the engine the movable parts are lubricated by the splash within the en ine and it is therefore to be considered that th the magneto actuated mechanism and the starter actuated mechanism are enclosed in a lubricated space.

While I Ahave shown and described, and

f have pointed out in the annexed claims, ceration may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my` invention, l claim:l

l. In a device of the class described, the combination with an internal combustion engine including a casing having an opening in one side thereof and a main drive shaft accessible from the outside of the casing through said opening, of acombined magneto and starter unit provided With means for mounting the same on the engine casing adjacent the accessible part of the main shaft and-constituting a closure for said opening, said unit incliiding a power transmitting shaft constituting an axial extension of the main drive shaft and provided with means at one end for coupling the same with said main drive shaft, a magneto operatively connected to the power transmittin shaft intermediate its ends to be driven t ereby, a starter mechanism adapted to be operatively connected to the power transmitting shaft to start the main drive shaft adjacent its outer end.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of an engine attachment comprising a mechanism supporting frame provided with means for securing the same to an engine, a power transmitting shaft journalled therein and provided wlth coupling means for connecting the same to the shaft of the engine and in alignment therewith, means for mounting a magneto in the frame in positionto be driven by said power transmitting shaft, a. gear carried by said shaft for driving the magneto, means for mounting a starter mechanism vin said frame in position to be operatively connected to the power transmitting shaft thereby to start the engine and a second ear carried by said shaft and, adapted to e rotated by the starter mechanism.

3. In an aeroplane, thecombination with an engine having a main drive shaft with a propeller carrying end and a normally free end, of a unit adapted to be mounted in position at the free end of said shaft, a power transmission shaft carried by the unit in driven and driving engagement with said free end, a magneto and a starter mechanism carried by the unit and both in operative engagement with the power` transmitting shaft whereby power ma -be taken off or conveyed to the engine sha at the end opposite to the propeller and ahand crank operatively connected to the power transmission shaft to rotate the same manually.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of an en ine having a main drive shaft, a replaceab e unit provided with means for securing the same to the engine, mechanism in. said unit including a magneto, a starter and a single coupling device for connecting both the magneto and starter to the engine shaft and means carried by the unit and operatively disposed to engage said coupling device for driving said main shaft A manually.

anced on opposite sides of the starter mecha` nism, and coupling means carried by the frame for connecting the magnetos to said power transmitting shaft.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a mechanism supporting frame, a magneto cross shaft journalled in said frame, magnetos in driving engagement therewith at opposite ends thereof, a starter mechanism including a part thereof overlapping said cross shaft and disposed between the ma space and incldentally provide a light structure.

8. In a device of the class described, the `combination of a frame having one side adapted to Contact with an engine, and thel opposite side exposed, a power transmitting shaft extending from the exposed side to the side that contacts with the engine, a magneto cross shaft lapping the power transmitting shaft and geared thereto, starter mechanism overlapping the cross shaft and including means for engaging the power shaft at the end adjacent the exposed side of the frame.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of an engine casing having an opening in the side thereof, an attachment casing having an opening constituting a horizontal continuationof the opening in the engine casing, .starter and magneto driving mechanism housed in said attachment casing and including a power transmission shaft extending through the openings of the cas- .ings and constituting the sole element in said opening.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of a unit adapted to be attached to an internal combustion engine and including a frame provided'with means for attaching the same `to the interna-l combustion engine, said frame having means for mounting a separable magneto and for mounting a separable starter motor and provided with mechanism .constituting a part of the unit etos thereby to economize in and includin two sets of gear drives, one for operative y connecting the magneto and the other for operatively connecting the starter with an active element of the engine to which the frame is attached.

11. An attachment for an internal combustion engine including a mechanism containing housing, means for demountably securing the attachment to the engine, starter mechanism including a gear train contained in said housing constituting a permanent part of the unit and adapted to be connected to an active element of the engine, a readily separable magneto carried by said attachment and exposed exteriorly of the housing and a driven shaft anda second gear train constituting a driving connection between an element of the housed starter and the external magneto.

12. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of two magnetos arranged in spaced apart relation across one end thereof, a starter disposed in the space between the magnetos and means including a common shaft having a coupling means at one end for operatively connecting the starter. and magnetos with the engine.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination with an internal combustion engine having an extension at one end, a pair of. magnetos spaced apart transversely on said extension, a driving connection between apart transversely on said extension, a driving connection including a common shaft between the magnetos and housed within the extension and a starter disposed between the `magnetos and including a drive shaft geared to said common magneto shaft.

15. A demountable unit includin a casing provided with an ope-ning outline by a securing flange for mounting the unit on an internal combustion engine, said unit rovided with means for demountably positioning a magneto thereon, a shaft carried by the casing for connection with such magneto, a starter carried by the casing and a single power transmission shaft with an end projecting beyond the casing and adapted to be connected to an engine shaft and said transmission shaft within the casing providing a common driving connection with both the starter and the magneto shafts.

Signed at Keypoi't, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, this 31st day of August, A. 13.1921.

ROLAND CHILTON. 

